The patent to W. E. Milberger (a co-inventor of the present invention) U.S. Pat No. 4,425,518, issued Jan. 10, 1984, discloses field effect transistor (FET) pulse apparatus which provides high voltage pulse of short duration. The pulse apparatus of the patent is capable of providing pulse voltages of several kilovolts with pulse widths of approximately 20 nanoseconds (nsec). The patented pulse modulator was designed for use with the transmitter of ECM systems, for example.
The transmitters of advanced MMW (millimeter wave) radar systems require higher voltage pulses, of shorter duration, than the pulse modulator of the patent can deliver. The same is true for the pulses required to trigger the Pockels cell of advanced, high power, laser transmitters. Moreover, these more advanced systems require (modulation) pulses which have a very fast "fall-time" that is at least equal to the turn on or "rise-time". The pulses produced by the pulse apparatus of the cited patent have a relatively slow fall-time; i.e., the fall-time is considerably slower than the rise-time.